


Stowaway

by peridoll



Category: Steven Universe (Cartoon)
Genre: F/F, Homeworld (Steven Universe)
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-02-04
Updated: 2019-02-04
Packaged: 2019-10-22 09:07:31
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,751
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17659838
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/peridoll/pseuds/peridoll
Summary: Winter Amedot Week Day 2; Homeworld. During a regular maintenance mission, Peridot picks up an unfortunate stowaway and, without a choice, is forced to bring her back to Homeworld and hide her from her superiors.





	Stowaway

**Author's Note:**

> A quickie for this day. I'm gonna try to do some other prompts for the rest of the week, too!

“Log date; 3 02 1. Maintenance run for abandoned gem colony Earth, Facet 5 Prime Kindergarten Control Room, is complete. Preparing to launch scouting ship.” Peridot’s floating fingers tapped away at the main pilot’s panel as the ship whirred back to life, lifting from the murky ground. She cringed in disgust as she weaved around a few forgotten injector devices. “Hm, such a shame. Such beautiful soil has gone to waste,” she murmured to herself.

The ship hovered far in the air, overlooking the entire Kindergarten, and she gave it one last longing gaze before shooting off into space. Once floating among the stars, she flipped a manual switch and pressed her fingers into the hologram panel to the left, blue tongue sticking out in concentration. “Preparing to set speed to warp-” Something clattered behind her and through the main doors.

The ship was small, with only the cockpit- the perfect, comfortable size for a Peridot with enough space to walk around- and a below-deck storage unit for supplies and the ship’s engine. The noise had come from underneath her. Cautiously, the green gem rose from her levitating seat and stepped with her heavy limb enhancers to the door. She pressed a finger against the middle of the diamond-shaped lock, and the doors slid open for her. The stairs hooked in a circle, the space cramped and tight, and Peridot squeezed her head below the ceiling to fit, peeking around the corner to the engine room. 

She must’ve been going a little stir crazy. She had been running important maintenance missions all week, and it must’ve been getting to her head. She was about to turn around and return to her pilot’s station when she heard another ruckus, behind a series of gem weapons lined along the walls. One spear had fallen over and clattered on the metal floor loudly, making the gem jump. Hesitantly, she descended the stairs.

“Come out!” she called into the dark space, the only source of light being the pulsing engine core. It lit her up from behind as she stepped further into the supplies, stepping over a few crates of tools and around destabilizers. She grabbed one and hid it behind her back, just in case. “By the order of Yellow Diamond, show yourself!”

To her surprise, there was movement in front of her. Someone, or something, shifted around the corner of a tank of spare fuel. Light, fluffy hair peeked out from either side of the creature’s hiding spot. Taking baby steps, Peridot snuck around the side of the tank and peered around it…

A round, purple face mostly obscured by uncontrollable quartz hair peered back at her. Her eyes blinked once, twice, then her full lips curled into a mischievous smile. Peridot recoiled as the mass of hair leaped out on all fours, pointing the tip of the gem weapon at her assailant. “Whoa, who are you?” the gem barked, voice reading distinctly as an amethyst. Peridot would know. But as she stood up to her full height, Peridot noticed something peculiar- the gem stood at only a quarter of the appropriate quartz height, though her hair was correct. It dragged behind her like a royal train and she had to hold it away from her eyes to see.

“I should be asking you that!” Peridot threatened in return. Instead of cowering in fear, the tiny, defective Amethyst crawled closer and grabbed at the hilt of the destabilizer. 

“What is this? It looks funky,” the amethyst joked, and Peridot gave her a rough shove to the floor. 

“Stop asking the questions, that’s my job,” the tech gem hissed, electricity jolting from the tip of her weapon. “Now tell me, where did you come from? Why are you on my ship?”

The amethyst merely shrugged, sitting with her legs outstretched on the metal floor. “I dunno, couldn’t tell you. I just popped out and was chillin’ when I saw this ship, so I was like ‘ah cool, a ship!’ So I hopped on.” 

Her story didn’t line up. Peridot grew suspicious. “You mean you came from Prime…? That’s impossible, that Kindergarten is no longer functioning. It’s been abandoned for nearly 2,000 years.”

The amethyst clambered to her feet, flipping her burdensome mane over her shoulder. “Well I’m just tellin’ you what I know, and that’s not a lot. All I know is that I popped out of the ground, hung out for a while, and now I’m here.”

Peridot returned the destabilizer back to its appropriate slot, tapping her floating fingers against her chin. “I don’t understand. It doesn’t make any sense. According to my files, this colony should be completely wiped out. There shouldn’t be any more amethyst soldiers forming! Especially in Prime. Beta, I could understand, but…” 

As she paced in thought, rambling on to herself, the tiny amethyst slithered past her and up the stairs. When she realized the gem was gone, Peridot scrambled up the stairs after her. She found her plopping down in her oversized pilot chair, staring wide-eyed at the screens above her. “Whoaaa… we’re in the sky!” 

“Hey, get off of there! That’s my seat!” Peridot squeaked, stomping over in her clumsy limb enhancers and grabbing a fistful of the amethyst’s fluffy hair. She picked her up, holding her away from her own body as if she were toxic, and placed her on the floor beside the chair. “Don’t touch any of my things, okay?! I have to- I have to bring you back to Homeworld. Someone needs to know about this.”

“What’s this button do?” Before she could stop her, Amethyst slammed her chubby hand down on a big, green button that read ‘ _ HYPERSPEED’,  _ and the ship morphed before zooming off into space faster than the speed of light. A mere seconds later, they slammed to a stop, and Peridot’s face smashed into the control panel. She jumped back, covering her bruised nose and letting out a whine. 

“You almost cracked my visor!” she snapped, spinning around in her chair to witness the undersized amethyst upside down against the ship door. She laughed boisterously, flipping herself over and getting tangled in her own hair. 

“That was cool!” she mused, bouncing back to Peridot’s side. In front of them lay Homeworld, and Amethyst stared in wonder. “Where are we?”

“Where are we? Do you really not know anything?” Peridot snorted, directing their ship towards the planet. “This is your home. Duh.”

Amethyst’s face twisted, and she shook her head, sending her hair flying. “No it’s not, my home is where we just came from.”

“Well, welcome to your real home.” 

The ship landed in a bustling dock bay, surrounded by similar ships of differing colors. Pilot gems scurried about, taking off and landing and rushing supplies in and out of the structure. 

“Come on, let’s get you to my manager,” Peridot insisted, grabbing a tight grip on Amethyst’s arm and giving her a tug. But the quartz fought back, much stronger than the puny tech gem. 

“Wait, you’re seriously gonna turn me over?!” The purple gem’s face dropped, eyes turned innocently upward. “You can’t do that! I’m gonna get in trouble!”

“I don’t have a choice, I’m just doing my job,” Peridot argued, bracing herself as she pulled on the quartz’s arm again, but she stuck like glue to the cockpit floor. 

“If you turn me in,  _ you’re _ gonna be in a lot of trouble, too! If you found some random gem on a completely abandoned planet, they’re gonna be suspicious of you! They’re gonna throw you in jail!” Peridot released her grip, and the amethyst scuttled behind the pilot chair, peeking over the armrest.

Horror swelled in the tech gem’s stomach. She panicked, knees buckling, and glanced around nervously. “Oh stars, you’re right. This is extremely unheard of, I don’t know what they will do to me! Maybe I saw something I wasn’t supposed to see. This was just supposed to be a maintenance mission, not a pickup!”

Reassured by her sudden panic, Amethyst climbed over the chair and perched on the top edge. “Well, just bring me back! And nobody ever has to know.”

“No,” Peridot huffed, chewing on her floating fingers. “That would be even more suspicious. I just landed, they’re expecting me to exit my ship. If I take off right after I arrived without approval, they’ll come after me and shoot me from the sky! It’ll be the end of me!”

“Jeez, calm down. I was just trying to get you hyped, but this is  _ too  _ hyped. I have an idea,” Amethyst winked impishly, disappearing down the stairs in a blur of lilac-colored hair. Peridot hurried after her nervously. “We take one of these boxes,” she continued, dumping out important repair tools with a loud metallic clang, “-And hide me in it! See, look! I’m pocket-sized!” Skeptical, Peridot inched closer as the small gem curled up inside the crate, filling the space perfectly. She scratched her chin in thought.

“Hm, this might work… I’ll pretend I’m just… carrying a box with personal items. I’ll take you back up to my quarters and hide you there, and tomorrow I’ll take you home.” Peridot bent, shutting the top flaps and gripping the bottom of the crate with both hands. She heaved, not expecting the tiny quartz to weigh so much, and struggled up the stairs with it. “By the stars, your size indicates that you would weigh closer to a Ruby, but you weigh just as much as a normal-sized quartz! What are you made of?!”

“I dunno, dirt!” came the snarky reply, and Peridot hushed her harshly.

“You have to be quiet when we walk out, or else we’ll get caught!”

Taking slow and awkward steps down the ship’s exit ramp, Peridot’s weak grasp began to slip, and she grunted in effort to keep the box in her arms. Luckily, an amethyst guard walked by just in time.

“Oh, can I help you with that?” the guard asked, pointing to the heavy box. 

Peridot, sweat beading down her forehead and face strained, nodded, and sighed in relief as the much stronger gem lifted the weight from her pathetic arms. “It’s appreciated. This box is going to my private quarters.”

Nonchalantly, the amethyst guard shrugged. “Sure thing, lead the way. Whatcha got in here anyway, a buncha rocks?” Thank the stars quartzes were so thick-headed and naturally oblivious. Curiously, Amethyst lifted the top flap of the box and gazed up at the gem who looked just like her, except taller and more muscular.

Peridot led the quartz guard through the winding streets of Homeworld, rushing to get out of the public’s view, worried something disastrous could happen if the box were to break and the defective gem spilled out. Peridot shook her head, dispelling those nervous thoughts. She finally reached her building and guided her assistant up the elevator to the 12th floor, then to her room. She coughed into her fist, nodding at the door. “Set it down inside,” she ordered, and, without a question, the amethyst guard obeyed. Peridot shooed her away, and she jogged off.

Once the door slid shut and they were alone, Peridot cracked open the box, and Amethyst tumbled out. “There, we’re safe. Now you have to hide until-”

Peridot squeaked as she heard the door slide open again, and she quickly shoved Amethyst behind her comfy desk chair. She swung around just in time to face her manager, a Moss Agate who always had her face buried in her work. “Ah, Peridot Facet-2F5L Cut 5XG,” she greeted sternly, sharp green eyes snapping up from her floating screen. Peridot stood at attention, her shoulders tense. “You’ve returned from your mission. Do you have anything to report?” 

“No, ma’am,” Peridot answered shortly, her voice cracking. The agate walked past her to the small, square window accenting her petite but comfortable room. Her manager motioned out the window to the main square below, where gems of all types went about their days.

“It’s quite a beautiful day out, isn’t it?” Moss Agate offered, stern voice slathered in fake-friendliness. As she had her back turned, Peridot grabbed Amethyst from her far-too-obvious hiding spot and dragged her to a compact and narrow storage closet off to the side, shoving her between handcrafted robonoids and slamming the door shut. Her manager jerked around, giving the tech gem a distrustful glare.

“Yes ma’am, it’s always a perfect and beautiful day on Homeworld, my magnificent and radiant Agate,” Peridot replied monotonously, folding her arms obediently behind her back and straightening up. She fiddled her fingers anxiously. The agate approached her, leaning in dangerously close, her piercing green eyes squinting.

“Kissing up to me, are we now? Hoping for some kind of promotion?” Peridot flinched as the taller and stronger gem gripped her jaw in one of her gloved hands, tilting her head up to meet her eye. “You know that won’t work, Era 2 scum. You will never amount to anything more than what you are; a pebble, made to scrub the floors and kiss my feet. Do you understand?”

Peridot succumbed to the verbal whipping, her knees trembling where she stood. “Yes, ma’am.” Moss Agate released her face from her severe grip, and Peridot hung her head in shame. “I am Era 2 scum and I will never amount to anything more than what I am,” she repeated, and her manager patted her on the top of her triangular hair. 

“Good Peridot,” the agate purred, before pulling up her screen again and marching back to the door. “Behave yourself, I’m always watching.” The warning lingered in the air even after the stern gem left, and Peridot let her words absorb into her skin before bolting for the closet door. She ripped it open to check on her stowaway. The amethyst’s face was etched with a deep, disappointed frown.

“What was that?” she asked, and Peridot rolled her eyes. “She was crazy mean, I would’ve whacked it right in the face if I were you!”

“And get shattered for assaulting a higher-up?” Peridot crouched in front of the undersized quartz, eyes wandering to the side as she worried her bottom lip. “It’s fine, it’s normal.” Amethyst snuck out of the closet and past Peridot, scurrying to the window and lifting herself onto her toes to see out into the main square. 

“Wow, this place blows,” she commented, gazing out upon the eerily perfect world. “I don’t like it already.”

Peridot collapsed onto her back, sprawling across the cold floor. Her limb enhancers weighed heavy on her weak body. “I know. Neither do I. But there’s no way to change it, so what’s the use in fighting it?”

Amethyst dropped to the floor as well, squatting beside Peridot’s puffy hair. “You don’t know that. There weren’t any rules on my home. And no dumb managers to push you around. It was just me, myself, and some good ol dirt.”

“It’s a factual part of life, it’s just how things are here.” The tech gem flipped herself over with a grunt, hiding her face against the floor and moaning exhaustedly. 

“Stop being so lame, the only reason you say that is cuz you haven’t tried to change it! Whenever I wanted a change, like I got bored of the dirt, I would just… dig a hole! Change it up!” Amethyst followed suit, uncomfortably close to the green gem’s face as she turned to look at her.

“We live very different lives. I would be destroyed if I ever tried to step out of line. You were… free. I am not.”

“You can be! Who’s stopping you?!”

“This world is! This empire! This system! My existence!”

“Who says? Just take your ship, leave, and never come back!”

“Well, I…” Peridot paused, letting out a defeated sigh. “You are spouting nonsensical ideas. Change will never happen. I’ll always be a Peridot, I can’t change  _ that _ .”

“Change the rest, then. Go exist as a Peridot somewhere else. Like on my home! It’s a lot of fun~ And aren’t you sick and tired of getting pushed around by that ugly hag?”

Thoughts were beginning to form where they shouldn’t have been, and with them came a sense of dread. She shouldn’t be actually considering the other gem’s ideas, she shouldn’t even be  _ talking  _ to the stowaway gem! But something stirred inside Peridot, an unrecognized desire to be  _ free _ . She hid her face again in shame. 

“I’m in so much trouble…”


End file.
